Demeter VTBP M 800D @ NAMM

[bucephylus]

I'm not an fx guy, so, not having the fx loop controls doesn't bother me.
I'm fine with an outboard tuner, so if it doesn't have tuner out, that doesn't bother me.
It would be nice to have the H series parametric eq, but I can live without it.
I hope it has the Jensen type DI.

Exactly. +1

 

[bucephylus]

+1 Looks very cool. I always thought that putting those great preamps into a more current 'non rack mount' format would open up a lot more sales for that company. Add the VERY impressive Minnie power section, and you have quite a little powerhouse there that should make the 'clean tube guys' VERY happy.

Really cool looking! If they hit that price point mentioned above, they will sell a lot of them.

Yes, yes,...and absolutely yes.
And yes.

This is an example of a builder who is clearly aware of his customers' preferences.

 

[bucephylus]

On not having a loop, I'm pretty sure if it sounds good enough people can handle not having one. My Kern does (I never used it) and the Monique doesn't and it seemed like an odd choice but people have kind of gotten over it.

+1. I recently had the displeasure of having my effects return jack go katywhumpus during a gig. I never use it and it took me a little while to figure out what was going on. Learned about annual PM's to keep them clean; but I'd actually prefer not to even have the danged thing.

 

[CrashClint]

Again, if I remember correctly, the Demeter pre's have an internal trim pot that can be used to optimize the input level to the pre based on the output level of the bass in question if you have a particularly hot or particularly weak output bass.

They do have the internal trim pots. Mine has separate inputs, it makes it easy to use the trim pots to setup between an active and passive bass and keep the input balanced between the two.

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[tombowlus]

I'm not an fx guy, so, not having the fx loop controls doesn't bother me.
I'm fine with an outboard tuner, so if it doesn't have tuner out, that doesn't bother me.
It would be nice to have the H series parametric eq, but I can live without it.
I hope it has the Jensen type DI.

The Jensen DI is an option.

We played through this guy at NAMM and loved it! In fact, it won a Bass Gear Magazine Best of Show Award.

That price point is very fair, IME/IMHO, and I love the combination of tone, power, function, and packaging. The only suggestion I had for James was to add a mute (or possibly a "standby" switch - which would be easy, if they use a 3-way on the on/off), and he thought that this would be pretty easy to add.

 

[Chef]

'three way with mute"

yessir; good call.

 

[LeonD]

Yeah.
I can't see not needing that.

Need vs want, need vs want, need vs want.

Definitely need.

 

[Baird6869]

Looks great and the price is very reasonable ($300-400 more than just the Minnie poweramp). In any case, I personally don't expect to replace my Monique/Minnie anytime soon.

If James made a "dovecage" style/size standalone preamp that sat perfectly on the Minnie AND sounded different than Monique (but in a good way).... I might be interested as having different sounding preamps can be a very cool thing. Have to sound unbelievable though.

Re:effects loop.... I do use effects in one band and have never had problems with running bass-> pedal board -> amp. I don't see the lack of one being a deal breaker for the majority of bassists.

Re:mute.... Personally, I like having one, but I can use the mute on my Planet Waves cable or just turn down my bass.

Again, effects loop, standby which, mute, etc..... Just nice to haves for me. YMMV.

 

[LeonD]

What do folks think the tonal differences would be between the Demeter and the Monique?

 

[tombowlus]

What do folks think the tonal differences would be between the Demeter and the Monique?

The preamp in the VTBP-M-800D is based off of the first VTBP-201 (pre "s" designation; the one that is 1.5U high). This preamp has a slight dip in the mids, though not so much as the 201s. As such, it is going to sound cleaner/tighter and a tad scooped in comparison to Monique. Both are very usable tone profiles, IME/IMHO.

 

[LeonD]

Sounds like a subtle difference.

 

[BurningSkies]

I'm guessing that on paper they look similar, but in practice they're very different animals.

There are a lot of ways to design and massage different 'feel' and tone beyond the basic EQ curves.

 

[tombowlus]

Sounds like a subtle difference.

I think it will be quite noticeable. Just two different flavors of great.

 

[therhodeo]

What sort of cab would you guys put under one of these? I've been considering doing a fearful 1212 for a long time and this might be the top for one.

 

[CrashClint]

What sort of cab would you guys put under one of these? I've been considering doing a fearful 1212 for a long time and this might be the top for one.

Epifani UL410, UL212, Berg 212

 

[Mark Sacchetti]

Audiokinesis cabs for light n fantastic

 

[Arthur U. Poon]

The preamp in the VTBP-M-800D is based off of the first VTBP-201 (pre "s" designation; the one that is 1.5U high). This preamp has a slight dip in the mids, though not so much as the 201s. As such, it is going to sound cleaner/tighter and a tad scooped in comparison.

Argh, Mid Scooped doesn't work for me, -at all. I much prefer the parametric in the HBP-1. Now my wish is Jim offers an HBP-1 version.

 

[Chef]

Mid scooped wouldn't be my preference either; but, maybe the mid control has enough boost over that "scooped a little when flat" point to account for that?

 

[therhodeo]

Is it the old school fender tonestack?

 

[Chef]

Jim described his tone stack to me as "more HiWatt-ish"